Multi-media content such as video, music, and data is delivered in a well-known fashion via wired or wireless networks to end user devices such as HDTVs, music play-back systems, and portable mobile devices. These networks each have unique characteristics of speed, efficiency, reliability, availability, and capacity. For example, satellite is more efficient for large geographic regions but suffers from diminished content distinction from one region to the next; that is, there is minimal content diversity, and it is expensive and difficult to do high granularity regional or demographic content targeting in a satellite architecture. In contrast, cable TV has regional and neighborhood targeting attributes but is often bandwidth or capacity constrained, thereby limiting the number of high bandwidth HDTV signals it can carry.
What is needed is a network architecture that combines the two strengths of targeting and capacity. An architectural advantage of terrestrial wireless networks is high capacity and targeted delivery. A terrestrial wireless network can deliver multi-media content to more than one end user or subscriber at the same time, thereby realizing high levels of network efficiency. The terrestrial wireless network delivery method is called broadcast, multicast, or narrowcast and has multiple end users (subscribers) and their associated end user devices receiving the broadcasted content, and thereby derives its high efficiency when more than one end user receives the same content in a simultaneous fashion.
Wireless multicast service facilitates the sharing of a single air interface channel by multiple end users. The single wireless air interface channel, whether logical or physical, extends from the base station radio transmitter in the wireless communication network to a subscriber's wireless end user device, wherein the single wireless air interface channel comprises the forward path (network to end user device direction) that carries the multicast multi-media content. A plurality of end user devices thereby concurrently receive the multi-media content on the same forward path channel. While the multicast process is well taught in the art, the delivered multi-media content, information, or data (collectively termed “content” or “multi-media content” herein) is static in nature and is simply a replica of the source content. The wirelessly multicast source content is immutable and does not have end user interaction or feedback.
New wireless multi-media content delivery architectures, such as MediaFLO (“Media ForwardLinkOnly”) and DVB-H (Digital Video Broadcast-Handheld), function by using a broadcast architecture in the forward path to produce a pseudo-multicast delivery and concurrently disseminates multi-media content to a plurality of wireless end user devices on a single air interface channel. In these architectures (also termed “multicast” herein), a unidirectional multi-media wireless broadcast network transmits multi-media content to selected authorized wireless end user devices in a time concurrent fashion. However, there is no interconnection, interaction, or feedback between the end users and their associated end user devices with this multi-casted multi-media content stream. The forward path content is completely and totally static in its nature. The delivered multi-media content is essentially no different than UHF or VHF broadcasted television, other than it can be received on small portable digital devices.
The MediaFLO and DVB-H multi-media wireless architectures, therefore, are static in their user interface, since there is no interactivity or feedback between delivered multi-media content and the end user. The multi-casted content is invariant or immutable in its extent. That is, whatever is delivered to the wireless network for transmission to the end user population is delivered as an exact replica, untouched and unmodified from its original form. This is a distinct and inherent limitation of the present wireless multicasting art (even though multicasting is efficient and targeted).
The existing wireless multicasting art does not enable or permit end users, via their associated end user devices, to modify the multi-media content carried on the forward path in any manner. Still, there are numerous applications wherein the ability to modify the forward path multicast content based on end user (subscriber) input or actions would be highly desired. What is needed is a novel adaptation of a wireless multicast network that enables end user interaction and modification of the forward path delivered multi-media content. In this new architecture, the end user population would have an unprecedented ability to communicate data and knowledge via the reverse path, a capability heretofore unavailable.
Thus, the state of the wireless multicasting art does not enable the capability to dynamically modify the content delivered on the forward path via aggregated feedback or input from at least one of a plurality of end users via their associated end user devices. No system heretofore has envisioned engaging the end user to directly and actively influence the delivered multi-casted content.